Cindy Vogels is not your typical fashion designer. She lives in the South East Queensland town of Gympie on Kabi Kabi land, specialises in eco-friendly fashion, and has had her designs worn by local and international musos, including Lady Gaga.  

Her big career moment came 10 years ago, while running a small local millinery business. Gaga, who was on tour with Tony Bennett, posted a snap of one of her stage looks to Instagram – the focus being a large, feathery crown. It was one of Cindy’s designs. “At first I was in shock and disbelief and then it was elation,” Cindy says of the moment. The piece had been bought by Gaga’s stylist, and it changed Cindy’s life. 

As can be expected, the Aussie media lapped up the story, so Cindy leveraged the nifty exposure to launch a bespoke garment design service for musicians. She formed fashion label Racy&Lucky and posted the Gaga photo to socials with the hashtag #wedressthemusic. Inquiries starting flowing in and the business was buzzing. 

Since then, Cindy’s clients have ranged from local musos like Regurgitator, Jaguar Jonze, Emily Wurramara, Dune Rats, Tia Gostelow and Lime Cordiale, to backstage wardrobe for international stars like Idris Elba, 50 Cent and The Chicks.  

She’s designed for major record labels, London Fashion Week and Eurovision, and in 2022, won The Australian Women in Music Award for Excellence in Image Making. “The award meant a lot to me because the AWMAs represent our achievements against the poor odds of success in a male-dominated industry,” Cindy says. “My fashion focus was always to harness the energy and prowess I learnt working for Gaga and deliver that to women in music to help their visibility and success.” 

Cindy learnt to stitch when she was just eight years old – her mum was a dressmaker who designed bridal wear and sportswear, including Olympics costumes for the Australian synchronised swimming team in the ’80s. Cindy loved helping her mum sew sequins on her pieces. These days, she often uses archived remnants from her mum’s business in her own label. 

At Racy&Lucky, Cindy works with pre-loved garments and fabrics whenever she can, and aims to make clothes that last for entire tours or lifetimes. “I encourage artists to curate their performance wardrobes by caring for them properly and rotating them over tours,” she says. “I’ve done entire wardrobes for film clips that are worn on tours around the country and the world. I dream that one day, when I’m retired and still following artists I adored working for, some of the garments I created for them will be in a museum like Dolly Parton and Freddie Mercury’s outfits.” 

She takes a co-design approach when working with clients, to ensure that every element of their new garment looks and feels just right. “I’m not going to dress you the way I think you should dress. I’m going to dress you the way you want the world to see you,” she says. “It’s everything, down to the colour, hemline and design elements they love, plus a focus on accentuating the body features they love. They see themselves in the mirror and lose their shit. It makes me so happy to deliver this experience which is so different to retail fashion.” 

Outside of the music industry, Cindy uses her craft to celebrate diversity and inclusion. In 2023, for example, she collaborated with photographer Brea Martin on a styled photoshoot of Gympie’s diverse young people. “We wanted to showcase how young people in Gympie are fighting for diversity, inclusion and visibility,” she says. The shoot ran in French fashion magazines Moevir Paris and Malvie, and was covered on Channel Ten’s The Project. While the latter story was a little over the top – dubbing Gympie the “Paris of Australia” – it was a welcome challenge to the typical public perception of Gympie as the conservative home of the gun lobby and One Nation. 

To Cindy, the town is so much more than the redneck headlines – it’s a “regional utopia”. She moved there while “reeling from a separation” from her then husband and decided it was the right place to raise her four kids, and eventually build a successful business. “It used to be that anyone creative had to commute or move to Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast or Brisbane,” she says. “Gympie is actually a thriving country town with diverse, creative and progressive people – so why not activate our creativity right here?  

“Publicists told me, ‘You are in the wrong place,’ and, ‘I could do so much for you if you were in a capital city,’ and tried to lure me to Sydney. At times I felt like I was in the wilderness of country Queensland. But I think that became a catalyst to thrive despite the perception.” 

This year, Cindy will continue her work in the diversity and inclusion space by partnering with Australian Women in Music – who produce the annual Australian Women in Music Awards – to inspire and spotlight young women and non-binary musos across the nation. “Because it’s time to take up more space, girls!” 

Correction: this story originally contained an editor's error stating that Cindy's designs have been worn backstage by international stars Idris Elba, 50 Cent and The Chicks. This is incorrect – Cindy managed their backstage wardrobes.

This story comes from frankie issue 124. To nab a copy, swing past the frankie shop or visit one of our lovely stockists. For future issues, subscribe here.